Instrument flying is an unnatural act probably punishable by God….
— Gordon Baxter
Testing a new autopilot in instrument conditions
David Megginson, the blogger behind the Land and Hold Short blog, has recently written a post about testing his new autopilot in instrument conditions. David began his post by pointing out that his new autopilot has four modes (without altitude support) as currently configured and then he went into detail about how each of the modes worked for him during his initial test flights:
- Stabilization Mode (ST). This mode keeps the wings level so that a pilot can fly a hyper-stabilized plane like in Microsoft Flight Simulator. David noted that this mode is useless to him and he has only used it during initial tests or pre-flight checks. He also added that if he wants to steer the aircraft using the autopilot, it makes more sense to twirl the heading bug on the heading indicator and then to have the autopilot follow it.
- Heading Mode (HD). This mode keeps the aircraft on a specific heading. David mentioned that he tried to not touch the yoke when it was in HD mode and then correct any altitude deviations using the trim. However, he also added that despite working hard to damp out oscillations, it was still be a challenge for him while flying in turbulence.
- VOR-Tracking Mode or TRK (LO). This mode keeps the VOR CDI centered using a low-pass filter. However, David pointed out that the problem with this mode is that the VOR needles will scallop back and forth considerably – meaning the aircraft will still gently weave during a flight. Hence and in IMC, he found the heading mode to be much more effective.
- Localizer-tracking Mode or TRK (HI): This mode keeps the VOR CDI centered with more-aggressive corrections. However, David wrote that he tried this mode on an approach to an airport but from 10 miles back, it did not seem like it was doing a good job as sometimes it was allowing nearly a half deflection on the CDI. Hence, he disengaged the autopilot before flying too low and flew the remainder of the approach by hand.
Nevertheless, David concluded that having an autopilot makes a huge difference in the level of fatigue he has after a flight – especially in flying conditions that require constant attention. Furthermore, he added that the autopilot helps him relax more so that he can study approach plates better and pay more attention to the engine gauges. In other words and for David, the autopilot was worth the investment.
The A-B-Cs of a successful instrument approach
Flight instructors and student pilots as well as experienced pilots have come up with numerous acronyms, checklists or phrases to remind themselves of all the information necessary for a proper instrument approach and some of these hints so to speak are easier to remember than others. However, Hugh Gommel (an instructor at The Flight Academy in Las Vegas) has recently posted this simple and easy to remember A-B-C method for an ILS approach on the Cirrus Owners & Pilots Association (COPA) blog. His method is the following:
– A is for ATIS as you need to get the ATIS information before descending.
– B is for BRIEF the approach. Hugh recommends that you always brief the approach details out loud to both your flying partner or yourself because the approach chart contains a lot of information. He also recommends that you check and verify the following important items:
- The chart (make sure that its current and the approach you intend to fly).
- The localizer frequency.
- The final approach course.
- The on glideslope altitude at the final approach fix.
- The minimums for the approach.
- The exact lighting configuration of the intended landing runway
- The missed approach procedure including the final level off altitude.
– C is for CHECKLIST.
Hugh also recommends that you try using this approach during a flight simulation a few times to see how well it works for you before actually using it in the cockpit – definitely good advice worth following.